The fleet of 62 boats made a colourful spectacle on the water. In the senior fleet of 42 there was a wide variety of craft racing together, Lasers in the majority. Catamarans enjoyed a separate start - they had Darts, Hobie 16s and Hobie 14s. The junior fleet consisted of Optimists, Tera, Mirror and one of each of Dabchick and Topper.
Four races were sailed on Saturday in a light South Easter. The fleet had to contend with the incoming tide and most chose to short tack up the sand banks to avoid the current when going upwind. The senior fleet in these races was generally led by the George Lakes' Fireball of David Laing and Mark Dee, chased by the Finn of Knysna's David Shilton and Redhouse's Sonnet sailed by Stephen du Toit and Sarah Arnold. The junior fleet was lead by Knysna's Tera Pros, sailed by Magqaza Sanele and Aphomdule Mamehi, with the Tera Sports of Robyn Hellstrom (George Lakes) and Redhouse's Sophie Hynch not far behind.
It was spring low tide at the scheduled start time on Sunday, with not much water in the channels, so a long haul race was set. The start was from the club house, and the senior fleet had to round a mark near the Knysna Heads, then return to finish at the yacht club. The junior fleet's rounding mark was closer - just past Thesen Island. Later, with the incoming tide, there was sufficient water to set normal races in the channels. Three further races were set for the moderate South Easter, which managed to damage two Terra masts in the 15 to 17 knot winds.
In the inter-club competition for the seniors, the winner was Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club, ahead of Knysna. This is Mossel Bay's first win in this category. The junior inter-club competition was won by George Lakes, ahead of Knysna.
In the individual categories, overall winner in the senior fleet was the Sonnet of Stephen du Toit and Sarah Arnold, with David Shilton (Finn) second and John Marc Olivier (Laser Radial) in third place. Three Knysna juniors sailed in the senior fleet, and Bhekumuzi Hani finished 15th out of the 42, beating the national training manager on handicap. In the junior fleet, first place went to Robyn Hellstrom, with Magqaza Sanele in second place and Sophie Hynch third.

The KYC Tera Pro, sailed by Magqazza Sanele.
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